Nevermore
by Kevvy Talks
Summary: "I'm sorry I didn't protect you, Rukia." The little raven-haired woman trembled. "Who ARE you?" she asked, voice quavering. "For you, I'm anything, no matter who or what I have to conquer."
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Nevermore**

**Pairing: Ichigo/Rukia**

**Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort**

**Rating: T**

**Summary: ****"I'm sorry I didn't protect you, Rukia." The little raven-haired woman trembled.**

**"Who ARE you?" she asked, voice quavering. **

**"For you, I'm anything, no matter who or what I have to conquer."**

**To save Ichigo from potentially dying, Urahara gives him a syrum with side effects wich evoke his feelings for Rukia. With no cure, Ichigo is forced to suffer the effects until they eventually wear off. And while Rukia copes with her partner's new attitude, she also begins to question whether her feelings for him are truly wrong.**

**A/N: Hello, my wonderful readers! To those who read Near And Yet So Far: yay! I finally wrote another Ichi/Ruki story! Aren't you happy? Thank you very much for reading, and please review! :) **

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

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><p>To say that Urahara was a jaded man was an understatement. He lay there on the floor of his shop, sprawled on his side with not a care in the world-well, <em>almost <em>no care. He was bored to tears with his lifestyle. It had been weeks and he hadn't made been the cause of any mischief of any kind, nor had he showed up out of the blue to save the day for some imperative other.

For the past few weeks, he had been selling merchandise to housewives with cheesy lines that would make any gullible individual indulge in his products. He had sold candy bars to a few teenagers and younger children, and when he was excessively fed up with loafing about, he snuck up behind his customers or employees like a ninja just for the amusement of scaring them half out of their wits.

However, tiptoeing around only got one so far before that, too, became a nuisance.

That was why Urahara reclined there on the ground on a particularly sunny Monday, in an almost catatonic state. His striped hat was slightly lopsided, covering most of the right side of his face, and the most of what could be seen of his visage was an unsettling sight indeed to those who passed him.

Mouth ajar, jaw slack, he stared off into space with all the enthusiasm of a carcass. A string of saliva dangled precariously from his bottom lip, his usually vibrant bottle green irises a dull, dead color.

"I think he's finally lost it," Jinta said, shaking his head as if in pity as he leaned up against one of the display cases.

"Yeah," Ururu murmured in agreement. Tessai didn't say anything, but made the effort of getting down on his knees and waving a hand in Kisuke's face to try and stir him from whatever world he was tripping in.

After a few seconds of this, it became apparant that the delusional shopkeeper wasn't going to react to finger-snapping or whistling.

Yoruichi, who had been sitting nearby, padded over to her friend and looked up at him, ears rotating to half-mast as she surveyed him for a moment, as if in assessment of the situation.

In a male tembre, she clicked her tongue and mumbled something before unsheathing her claws. "This should do the trick," she said intelligibly, and raised her paw.

That was about when Kisuke leaped up into the air without any sort of prior notice, causing a chain of reactions involving Jinta swinging his broom and smashing an array of glass figurines on display, and Ururu falling backward onto the ground, thus tripping Tessai, who'd taken a step back.

The well renowned former captain of the Department of Research and Development grinned, not once wavering even when Yoruichi, who'd been startled by his unpredictable behavior, yowled and launched herself into the air, landing on his head and effectively injuring him with her hind claws as she scrambled for something to grab on to.

Picking her up without the slightest of regards to the cuts on his face, which were bleeding profusely now, Kisuke startled to spin around, his haori billowing around him. "I've finally got it!" he cried. "I know what I want to do now!" Clawing Kisuke's hands in fear that he would fling her across the room with all his twirling about, Yoruichi turned apprehensive round eyes onto him.

"What?!" they all cried in unison. Giving them an "I-know-something-you-don't look", he smiled a smile so creepy and disturbing it defied the spine-tingling sensation that Gin's infamous grin induced.

Cackling, he left them to speculate and vanished to God knows where without another word or even a parting farewell.

Burying himself in the bleakest recesses of his domain, Kisuke began to go to work out of view of his loyal workers. So as to not forget his sinister plans, he spent the duration of the day writing out formulas on paper.

Yoruichi, who'd gone to take a shower after the _Shoten _had been closed, knocked on his door once or twice to tell him that dinner had been prepared and that Rukia had come by asking for supplies-somafixer and one kikanshiki memory replacement power cell, which was being used more and more frequently as days passed due to the recklessness of a certain orange-haired Soul Reaper.

Nevertheless, Kisuke didn't once stop to eat or sleep. He was in his prime. He was...a scientist; a genius; an absolute madman. He wasn't insane enough to do any of the things Mayuri would do, but still, he was creative at best.

He had a plethora of bizarre ideas that were just waiting to be developed and put on trial. All it required were the right chemicals and the correct balance of data to take this mass of modules and compile them into what would, with any luck, be a creditable specimen.

Of course, one's job was made a tad bit more difficult for lack of a test subject and 24 hour service from specialists.

Kisuke was practically on pins and needles just to get this right. Of course, it still eluded him as to what exactly he wanted to create.

To top that, he hadn't been in the field in forever, so he had to admit that the statistics were sketchy. But doing this again, doing what he loved what was made the whole process so thrilling. Kisuke couldn't remember a time since he'd been in the world of the living that he'd stood on the edge as he was now.

When he finally looked up from his work, he saw that it was noon, much to his chagrin.

His stomach grumbled in annoyance at being deprived of dinner, so he stood up and stretched out his aching back before turning off the lights and heading for the kitchen.

After eating a hearty meal and drinking as much lemonade as possible, he retired to his bedroom to fetch his toilatries for a shower. Yoruichi was there, apparantly having waited for him. She had fallen asleep in her cat basket in her feline form.

He thought it mildly cute the way she was curled up in the basket on her favorite cushion, her paws tucked up under her chin, her tail curled around her limber form.

Kisuke shrugged off the affection before he got too mushy on himself and crouched down to pick her up and carry her to his bed.

Yoruichi loved his pillow...The feline loved _him _period. Maybe, he thought, after he finished this experiment, he'd dedicate it after her or something. Just maybe. But he knew what she would say if he did. _I think you're getting sappy in your old age, Kisuke. _And Gods was she right.

Many nights and mugs of coffee later, it was ready...Kisuke was almost amazed at how it had turned out. He refrigerated it and labeled it so that nobody would touch it.

Ururu, Jinta, Tessai and Yoruichi knew better than to touch anything he put in the fridge, anyway. Ururu had learned the hard way after drinking a minor potion he'd brewed up for fun around Holloween and her hair turned pink. Luckily, he'd had an antidote, but they had learned not to repeat the mistake.

Besides, this chemical hadn't been tested and its effects were unsure. He would have to thoroughly examine it tomorrow and run more tests to see what componants could combat the effects to the drug-if there were effects. Right now, he needed some shut-eye. Tomorrow could wait. After all, he had all the time in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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><p>Ichigo was ignoring her again. It wouldn't have gotten under her skin all that much if not for the fact that he was being so upfront about it.<p>

Rukia's mood hadn't made any sort of improvement when she had gone to the _Shoten _after the incident_, _only to find that she would be short of provisions for another day because Urahara had supposedly hidden away on confidential business and wouldn't be back until the following morning.

And that was a very big "if". She had her doubts that he would even show up.

Meanwhile, she was stuck with a broken kikanshiki power cell, an empty gikongan dispenser, and no somafixer whatsoever.

_Hell and damnation! _she thought. Rukia leaned forward against her desk, cradling her chin in her palm. Her eyes flickered only momentarily to Ichigo, who was feigning interest in whatever Keigo was babbling on about-something about _Bad Shield._

As much as she would have liked to say that she had absolutely no problem with his behavior, she couldn't deny that she blamed herself for what had happened. The past 24 hours had been like trying to scratch an itch that couldn't be reached; it was utterly maddening. He had every right to act this way. After all, it was her fault that they weren't on speaking terms...

The beep of the device in her breast pocket was what brought back the unwanted déjà vu.

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><p><strong>Nearly 7 days prior...<strong>

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><p>Rukia flipped open her phone and bent over near the edge of the track field to make it look as if she were taking a breather. Her fingers plucked the front of her damp t-shirt from where it was plastered uncomfortably to the curvatures of her body and shook it loosely away from her sweaty skin.<p>

Reading the directive on the screen, she rocked back and forth on her heels and reached up with her free hand to pull the oily, matted raven-black strands of hair away from the nape of her neck.

Fortunately, it didn't seem as if the Hollow was that big; adversely, it could just as well be an Espada judging by the way it was concealing its spiritual pressure.

"What've we got?" Ichigo called, jogging up to her side.

"Jeez, you stink," she said, jolting backward from the overpowering stench of male perspiration.

"Thanks a lot. Kagine's a damn slave-driver. Keigo goofed off again so we all had to do one-hundred sets of push-ups." Rukia wrinkled her nose and scooted a ways back.

"Hey, c'mon! Gimme a break! It's not like you don't stink, either!" he exclaimed, obviously peeved that she was being so straight-forward about her distaste to the smell permeating the air around him.

"_Me_!" she shrieked. "I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Yes, you do!"

"No, I don-Oh, for the love of God, we've got to get moving! Do you have Kon on you?" she questioned. Ichigo threw his arms up in the air, and Rukia made a point to fall over backward to emphasize how badly he smelled.

"No! Why should I? All he ever does is complain," he told her. "Besides, the last time I brought him, he practically attacked Orihime in the locker room after school. Tatsuki nearly saw him, so I-"

"Dammit, Ichigo, I don't want your excuses. I just asked a question," she spat, interrupting his rant.

"But I have the badge," he said. "It's...in the classroom." He slumped. Rukia seethed.

"Go get it, you imbecile. I'll go on ahead," she told him. Ichigo looked noticeably ill at ease with the notion.

"Rukia, I don't think that's a good idea. If you just wait-"

"While the Hollow gets away and kills innocent souls? I don't think so, Ichigo." With that, Rukia swiveled around and ran away with spare minutes to duck out of sight just as the girls came for another lap around the track.

She scaled a nearby fence, fingers easily grasping onto the wire mesh and giving her the leverage necessary to flip over the top. Rukia landed with the grace of a feline on her feet and dashed off school grounds without any witnesses spotting her.

Her hands fumbled for her gikongan dispenser, and when she recovered it among the other junk in her pockets-cell phone, some bubble gum, a penny she'd picked up off the pavement-she popped the last green pill onto her tongue.

Dry though her mouth was from her physical activity, she managed to get the damn soul candy down enough for her to push her astral form out of the awkward gigai she'd come to have a love-hate relationship with during her time in the world of the living.

No more uneasy than she'd been before, Rukia permitted her hand to brush up against the pommel of her sword just to reassure herself of its being and launched up into the air.

She landed a little inelagantly on the top of a phone pole-nearly lost her balance-and tried desparately to regain her composure despite knowing that no one was watching. _I must be really out of shape_, she thought to herself, inwardly chuckling. Why laugh? This was a serious matter.

Maybe she was letting Ichigo take charge too often. Since her near-execution, she had had scant amount of time to train, though she had managed with what she had been given.

Her powers were still slightly ungainly, but she had a handle on her kido and could still release shikai. There was no reason for her to be edgy.

"I can do this," she said aloud.

There was a sudden onslaught of sickly sweet pressure, and before she knew it, Rukia was being propelled from her perch and into the air, exposed.

Gasping, she fumbled for her zanpaku-to, missed, grasped the hilt, and then the world spun out of control and she couldn't tell up from down anymore. A scream split the quiet atmosphere of Karakura, and it took her seconds to realize that it was she who was screaming. That was moments before she slammed into something solid and heard an ear-splitting crack that could have been her bones or the structure she'd been flung into.

Darkness clouded her vision...


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Jeez, have I really been gone that long? Apologies to everyone for vanishing...and for leaving the story dangling with such a cruddy cliffhanger. My IMMENSE thanks goes to those who reviewed.**

**For those who are just passing along, give my story a chance. I'll try hard to make it less draggy.**

**Suggestions, commments, and praise are all welcome here.**

**Again, I'm sorry for the hiatus. I have not given up on this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

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><p><strong>Nearly seven days prior...<strong>

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><p>Rukia was being lifted into the air by her ankle. Her reaction was automatic.<p>

The incantation left her lips before her ears could register the words, and a blast of white hot energy hit the shadowed figure looming before her.

An inhuman howl of agony left the thing's mouth, and then she was floating, and where she anticipated to hit the ground in minutes, she realized she'd been suspended over the top of a building and she was dropping a few hundred feet from the pavement below.

Twisting, she spun and kicked off the edge of the brick wall, using her reiatsu to gain traction on the air, where she skidded some feet before stopping altogether, hovering.

The Hollow met her eyes with bottomless scarlet holes—no pupils—and a mask that could have been interpreted as that of an alligator but overall looked similar to a dragon. It opened its mouth then, a forked, serpent-like tongue slithering out to kiss sharp, curved teeth just as it roared.

Putrid hot air hit her in the face, fanning her hair out around her ears and nearly knocking her backward from the mere disgusting odor of it.

Not knowing why, just following her instinct, Rukia dived forward and reached for her zanpaku-to...just in time to find that her blade was missing—tossed elsewhere in their skirmish before.

In the time it took her to inhale sharply in alarm, a long, slender black tail sliced through the air and hit her side, sending pain lancing up through her ribs, which might have been fractured in her impact with the building beforehand.

Rukia flipped once, twice, and sailed downward until she crashed into the road below, sending chunks of tarmac scattering in every direction. Blood pooled into her mouth from where she had bitten her tongue, and for a moment she lay completely motionless as smoke and debris clouded around the area where she'd crashed. The Hollow remained settled on the rooftop, staring intently down at the wreckage.

_What...is wrong with me? _she thought. _After all this time...is this really all I can muster...?_

Rukia pushed a hand up through the lumps of asphalt and rock, crawling out, slowly but surely, from the mass of rubble.

Nearby lay Sode no Shirayuki. As close as it was, however, it seemed so very far away.

It was in these unfeasible circumstances, where everything seemed so doomed to failure, that she thought of Ichigo. Whether she was trying to prove to him that she could fight for herself—that she didn't need to be saved—or that she was warrior—maybe both—she wasn't altogether sure.

The last thing she wanted—needed-—was for Ichigo to come around to save the day. This was_ her_ time,_ her_ battle, and this was_ her _pride on the line.

Spitting out blood, Rukia pushed herself over the debris and reached out with fingertips burned from kido to pick up her sword. With much strain, she placed the tip of her blade into the ground and used the weapon as a crutch so she could get up off the ground.

The Hollow snarled then, crawling down the side of the building and rushing towards her. Rukia took her position and lashed out with her zanpaku-to, slicing along the side of its mask and carving a groove in the bone.

It howled, lunging for her, and Rukia managed to dodge it just as it nose-dived into the road. Retreating, it shook its head of the rubble and turned to her, baring curved fangs and talons sharp enough to pick the flesh from her hide.

"RUKIA!" The shout caught her off guard, made her turn just in time to see Ichigo land in the middle of the road a few feet from them. The Hollow seemed to leer, and it jumped for her.

Rukia grunted as it brought its claws down on her sword. She placed her palm on the flat of her blade as it began to push, the clash causing energy to flash between them.

That was when Ichigo rushed forward to help, Zangetsu drawn at his side. The Hollow was big, twice their size. Ichigo was so focused on her, on getting to her, that he didn't notice its tail and the razor-sharp tines potruding from it.

"ICHIGO!" Rukia barely recognized her own voice, nor did she the inflection of hysteria.

Her body responded unthinkingly, and before she knew it, she was diving in front of him just as the jagged spikes perforated her in the abdomen.

The action was so automatic that it took what felt like forever but was actually a minute before the poisonous properties on the tines touched her nervous system and she began screaming so loud and hard that her throat went raw and her ears popped. She buckled, her body giving out.

The Hollow removed its tail from her with a sickening noise followed by the sound of blood pouring onto the asphalt underneath her, and everything tilted moments before she hit the ground.

"GETSUGA TENSHO!" Ichigo bellowed, standing over her crippled form protectively.

Rukia's vision blurred in and out of view. Her unimpaired hearing caught the screech of the Hollow, and through fuzzy picture, she saw what appeared to be fire. All her body could register was heat and dust, and that now dull pain which would increase to breath-taking agony and lessen to something almost bearable every few seconds.

The cold didn't begin until after the chaos had diminished and she could no longer hear the Hollow's screams of tormet as Ichigo did only God knows what to it for having hurt his friend. Rukia welcomed the numbness that spread throughout her limbs and belly, a numbness that cancelled out all the pain and blackened her vision. The last bit of warmth she felt was of Ichigo's arms embracing her as he knelt down by her side.

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><p>When Rukia awakened, she was in Urahara's shop. He informed her that she had been in a comatose state for nearly four days. <em>"You're lucky to have lived," <em>he'd told her.

If Ichigo hadn't been so quick on his feet, the poison would have seized her heart and she would have been dead. All thank-yous aside, Rukia's pride hurt more than her body.

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><p>"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" Ichigo sat at her bedside. In fact, he looked like he'd been there for quite some time. A blanket was folded over the arm of the chair and there was a mug half-full of coffee.<p>

His hair looked a tad bit more disheveled than usual, he was still in his school uniform, of which was wrinkled, and his eyes were a dull color from lack of sleep. Rukia told him outright that he needed to go home and get some rest, just to get off the impending subject that was drifting over their heads.

"No," he said, as if that was final. She didn't look at him.

Her arms were crossed over the pallid kimono she wore, and her tresses looked limp and oily for need of a shower and a proper shampooing. Every now and then, the bandaged wound at her abdomen would give a telltale twinge of pain.

Rukia would have given anything to have reclined there on the pillows, but she knew he wasn't going to let her unwind until he got what he had to say off his chest.

"Why?" he finally asked. She knew what he was talking about. There would be no point in playing the innocuous victim.

Rukia laughed it off instead. "Why shouldn't I have? Did you want me to let you die?"

Ichigo glared at her. Apparantly, laughing was out of the question. "You could have died!"

"And this concerns you, how?" she inquired, fuming now. "I'm a Soul Reaper, Ichigo. I've been in life or death situations before-"

"That isn't the point!" he shouted, raising his voice. "My job is to-"

This time, Rukia was the one who interjected. "To what? To protect me?! Well, I've got news for you. I don't need for someone to defend me! I can fight my own battles!"

"THAN YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME FIGHT _MINE_!" he screamed, jumping to his feet and towering over her_. _Rukia didn't so much as flinch.

"That was _my _fight, Rukia, and you know that! I could have taken that hit! I didn't need for you to jump in front of me like that!"

Ichigo was visibly upset. It meant everything to protect those who he cared for. The way he saw it, their encounter with the Hollow would have had more value had he known she was out of danger. He would have taken that blow for Rukia. It devastated him to see that she had put herself on the line like that and he had hardly been able to do anything but watch as Urahara and Tessai spent seemingly endless hours trying to remove the poison.

"You could have died, Rukia," he said, looking almost vulnerable in comparison to the furocity he'd displayed earlier. "Don't you know what that means to me? Don't you know what _you _mean to me?"

Rukia hadn't had the words to answer. Ichigo had stormed out of the room and hadn't talked to her since that day. He seemed determined to ignore her. He would acknowledge her under absolutely neccessary circumstances, but otherwise he just turned his back to her.

_Don't you know what _you _mean to me? _

And to be completely honest...she didn't.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to: Anonymous (who doesn't have an account), falconrukichi, DarkFlameInfernal, xwhitemoonx, SuperRukia, PsychoNinjaWolf, Bluesky21543, chuela7795, Molipop595 and zombiegirl22.**

**I appreciate all of your reviews very much and I'm glad to see I don't disappoint in keeping everyone in character. No, I have not and will NEVER give up on this story. Regrettably, my everyday life comes first, and my stories second. I wish I had more time to devote to this fic, I really do. I'm trying. Please bear with me.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

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><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

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><p>To say that Ichigo was pissed off...was the understatement of the century. Ichigo Kurosaki was <em>livid-<em>—fucking livid.

He'd managed to gather the optimism necessary over the week in hopes that Rukia would come and talk to him so they could hash things out. Unfortunately, she seemed determined to ignore him.

Little did they know, they were both using the same silent-treatment approach, so it was backfiring.

He did almost everything he could think of to get her attention, and them some. Nada.

Now here he sat listening to Keigo babble on about _Bad Shield, _the movie, which, in his personal opinion, was the cheapest piece of shit he'd ever watch. He swore to Christ, he'd wipe his ass with that before he ever thought the actors were remotely convincing.

Mizuiro, of course, was under the impression that there was something wrong with Ichigo because he kept glancing to the far corner of the room.

Rukia sat there at her desk, legs demurely crossed, palm cradling her chin as she gazed off into distant galaxies beyond imagination_._ Ichigo was just about to go out of his mind with Keigo's insane and bizzare form of conversation, when he heard the pleasant and utterly life-saving—not that pleasant—beep of the device in her breast pocket.

Rukia fumbled with the phone and flipped it open, not even minding the glances cast at her from the lingering students who were chatting while the others shared lunch.

Having forgotten to pack _bento, _Rukia just sat there in her chair even when class had been dismissed, without so much as a word to anyone who passed her way.

Ichigo would have offered her some of his own, but he remained obstinant in the thought that she had done it on purpose and was her way of covertly mind-fucking him.

In reality, Rukia had done no such thing. Having been in a hurry that morning so that she wouldn't have to confront him at breakfast, she had bolted from the house and had overlooked the minor detail of brunch. Thus there was one less thing to keep her head and her hands busy.

Luckily, her handy cell phone saved her before she melted under the scrutiny of all the students there in homeroom, who were pondering why Kuchiki wasn't with Kurosaki. Rumor had spread, after all, that they were in a relationship. It was abnormal for them to be too far apart from each other on any day.

Thankful, Rukia praised the Gods and hastened her way out the door faster than you could say "Hollow".

As Keigo and Mizuiro took a momentary pause to observe, Ichigo contemplated whether he should follow her. It was none of his damn business what she did, yet...what if another incident occured like the last? What if he wasn't there for her when she needed him the most?

But then there was always the likelihood he would pursue her, which would end in banter, or her calling him appalling names then laughing at his dismay—or both. At a loss to come to an agreement in his mind, Ichigo just sat there and fidgeted.

Keigo asked him if he was constipated. Ichigo punched him in the face.

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><p>Already a block away, Rukia halted and looked down at the screen on her cellular phone. The signal flashed once and vanished.<p>

"Dammit!" she cursed. Someone else had gotten to it before her. Most likely Renji or Ikkaku, or one of the other Soul Reapers that had been posted here in the world of the living.

Even knowing that she didn't have to eradicate the Hollow, Rukia had done it anyway. Why? Was she really that eager to go and fight another Hollow? Maybe it was just a craving to be out in the field again, to buoy herself and discourage these underlining misgivings about being a warrior.

Maybe she just couldn't stand another second in that confounded classroom with everyone breathing down her neck for answers.

It had been about over a couple of hours and despite coaxing from Orihime, she would enlighten no one as to why she had been absent for nearly a week other than to fib about being sick. Everyone but Chad and Uryu, whom she was eternally grateful to, seemed to still want to mangle answers out of her.

The juiciest buzz yet among the humans yet was that Rukia and Ichigo had split, even though it had never been confirmed to begin with that they were in a relationship.

At lunch, Ryo, Chizuru, Michiru, and Mahana had tried to pry, compelling Rukia into the bathroom stalls where she hid until they went elsewhere.

Questions abound, but, alas, no replies. Rukia was a professional at that type of thing; she could bend very far for other people, but it was only to a certain extent. Her acting skills and ability to steer around the truth only got her so far.

The walls she put up to protect herself may have been harder than steel, but they weren't completely invisible to everyone, and to those who saw it, it was a guise to obscure her emotions, which were more transparent than she cared to confess. Her mind and heart, though, were an entirely separate matter. There were things there she would never let anyone see—even Ichigo.

A wistful sigh escaped her.

Deeming it worthless to go back, Rukia decided to go to play hooky a bit and pivoted on her heel, only to collide face-first with another person.

"Ow," said the lackluster voice.

"Ow, yourself," she told him. "What the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo cocked his head to the side, as if thinking. "Well, if I recall correctly, I followed your tiny ass all the way here, and there's no Hollow." Zangetsu, which was slung across his shoulders, caught the sunlight with its unique patina and held it.

"Someone else got it," she said, putting her phone away and turning to walk off.

"Whoa! Hey, wait! Where are you going?" he cried, trotting to catch up with her. Ichigo swung his arm back and put his zanpaku-to away now that it wasn't needed. His _zori _scuffed against the pavement as they walked, unnatural black shihakusho casting an eerie picture against the warm backdrop of Karakura's skies and buildings.

"I'm going to Urahara's place. I'm in need of supplies. I have no gikongan or somafixer," she told him.

"Wait, you don't have gikongan and you came all this way to fight a Hollow?!" he exclaimed.

Rukia shrank back, hissing at him for being so loud despite the fact that no one could hear him and the streets were relatively empty.

To the naked eye, she was just your average school girl walking home alone. Her skirt fluttered around her slender legs, her button-up accentuating each camber and line. Her eyes caught the glow of the sun, causing the normally indigo depths of her eyes to put accent on the violet flecks there in her irises.

Rukia had taken a much needed shower the day before returning to society, so her tresses were nothing short of silky and shimmered with health.

"We should be going back to school," Ichigo told her. Right now, he was looking anywhere but in the direction of the closest educational facility. Right now, he was staring at Rukia Kuchiki.

"Ichigo, you are entitled to do as such. However, I don't come from your world. I don't think missing a day of school is going to mar my academic record," she said. "Where I come from, I have the highe-Why are you looking at me like that?" Rukia stopped in her verbal tirade when she saw the expression on his face.

"Like what?" he questioned blankly. Above and beyond, the sun was in such a position in the sky that its luminescence cast a collage of colors on the clouds, giving everything an almost fluorescent glow. This glow combined with Rukia standing at such a point gave her an almost ethereal radiance. It was hard _not _to stare.

"Like _that," _Rukia said, pointing at him. Ichigo slapped her hand away.

"Tch. As if. Being with you on a daily basis is bad enough. Why would I have any interest in looking at you?" A vein visibly twitched in her neck, and her limbs spasmed.

Rukia lashed out with lightning-fast reflexes, bitch-slapping him so quickly he pirouetted on his heel like some demented ballerina and face-planted violently into the sidewalk.

"Gah, you sadistic-!" Ichigo's expletive was cut short when she kicked him in the gut with such brutality all the oxygen rushed out of his lungs in one foul swoop. The strength and drive behind the action was so unforeseen he nearly let go of the contents of his bladder and pissed all over himself.

"Asshole," she said scathingly, and flounced off. Rukia didn't know what it was about Ichigo that got under her skin. It was just, sometimes he could be _such _a prick.

Maybe she was a bit harsh on him, but God only knew that that condescending jerk needed a little tough love. That, and maybe the current events between them contributed to her violent behavior as of late.

For all that was holy, was he really so dense? Or maybe it was she who was so incompetent.

Rukia had been forwarned, after all...Could she expect anything less? Nevertheless, for a reason beyond her comprehension, she kept turning a corner in faith that...what?

_"What?" A cold, callous finger trailed down her spine like the most icy of waters. It was relentless._

_Byakuya continued to gaze at her in an impassive manner, prim hands holding his cup of tea in what could only be described as a decorous fashion. He continued to stand there in the entryway of the rice-paper doors._

_Outside, cherry blossom petals shed themselves from their blossoms with the gust of one zephyr, dislodging themselves from the trees and floating down to the ground. An exquisite sight though it was, it only served to be yet another reminder of the forthcoming autumn._

_Byakuya didn't so much as blink or show any sort of indication that he was stirred by this._

_"There is nothing for you there, Rukia. There is only death," he reiterated, albeit in so many words._


End file.
